Tibetan protester sets himself on fire in Nepal's capital in protest against China

February 14, 2012

JIM YARDLEY of the New York Times filed this report:

Feb. 13, 2013 – A Tibetan man walked onto a street Wednesday
morning in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, poured gasoline over his body and
set himself on fire. Engulfed in flames, and writhing in pain, the monk became
the latest Tibetan to self-immolate as part of a protest campaign against
Chinese rule in Tibet.

In Nepal, a small Himalayan nation that is home to thousands
of Tibetan exiles, authorities said the monk was hospitalized in critical
condition. Witnesses told The Associated Press that the man, who was dressed in
the robes of a Buddhist monk, shouted slogans against China before falling to the
ground, as others quickly put out the flames and called for help.

Photographs showed Nepalese security officers arriving as
the protester stood in the middle of the street, his body consumed by flames
and black smoke.

This latest self-immolation comes at a wrenching moment for
Tibetans inside and outside China. Desperate to focus global attention on
political and religious repression inside Tibet, yet barred by Chinese
authorities from holding any political protests there, a growing number of
young Tibetan men and women have set themselves on fire during the last three
years.

The protest campaign is now approaching the grim milestone
of 100 self-immolations in Tibetan areas of China: Exiled Tibetan political
leaders in India, as well as the advocacy group, Save Tibet, have documented 99
such incidents inside China since February 2009. A handful of Tibetans outside
Tibet also have self-immolated, including a man who set himself afire in March
2012 during a pro-Tibet protest in New Delhi. His image, captured by a news
photographer, ricocheted around the world.

The protester in Nepal has not yet been identified but he
timed his self-immolation to coincide with the important Tibetan festival of
Losar, the Tibetan New Year, during which the government in exile has asked
Tibetans not to celebrate in solidarity with Tibetans still in Tibet.

The protester set himself on fire near a major Buddhist
stupa, or religious structure, that is located in the Boudhanath section of
Katmandu, where many Tibetan exiles live.

A waiter at the Golden Eye Café told The Associated Press
that the Tibetan man used the bathroom in the restaurant before stepping
outside onto the street. Later, the waiter found a bottle of gasoline and
clothing in the bathroom.

“He looked like the hundreds of Tibetans who came to
Boudhanath today and I did not suspect he was going to set himself on fire,”
the waiter, Prasant Tamang, said.

The Chinese government has condemned the self-immolations as
criminal acts and has been waging a police crackdown. Last week, Chinese state
media reported that at least 70 people had been arrested or detained in a
Tibetan region of the province of Qinghai and accused of inciting others to
self-immolate. Last Friday, a Chinese court sentenced a Tibetan man to 13 years
in prison on similar charges.

Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of the Tibetan government
in exile, expressed sadness about the self-immolation in Nepal and said his
administration has asked Tibetans not to take drastic actions, including
self-immolation. But he also placed the blame for such acts on the Chinese
government.

"The occupation of Tibet and repression of Tibetans are
the primary reason for the self-immolations inside Tibet," Mr. Sangay said
by email on Wednesday, while he was visiting the United States. "The
solution to the tragedy in Tibet lies with Beijing and my administration is
fully committed to dialogue and to address the issue peacefully."

For decades, Chinese leaders have vilified the Dalai Lama,
the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, and the country’s state-run media have
recently been blaming him for orchestrating the self-immolations. Tibetans have
dismissed such claims as blatant propaganda and argued that the
self-immolations are the result of repressive Chinese policies that have
sharply restructured political and religious rights in Tibetan areas.

“Why do the Tibetans burn themselves?” asked Penpa Tsering,
speaker of the exiled Tibetan Parliament, which is based in Dharamsala, India,
in a speech earlier this month. “Political freedom in Tibet is nonexistent.”

Nepal is pinched between China and India and for decades as
served as way station for Tibetans escaping from Chinese rule. In recent years,
Chinese leaders have pressured Nepal’s government to choke off this flow of
refugees and to also limit political protests by Tibetans living in Nepal.